


Welcome Back

by sunflowerstorm



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Blood, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Art, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mission Gone Wrong, Un-named aliens, cute team bonding, injured keith, or more like angst angst angst team bonding angst angst, then a heck ton of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 08:51:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11158440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowerstorm/pseuds/sunflowerstorm
Summary: Lance and Keith have been growing closer over the past few months so Shiro decides to send them on a mission together to help further their relationship, but what was meant to be a simple straight forward mission goes all sorts of wrong."We were going to go home remember. Back to Earth. You and Me."____________Inspired by this amazing art that gave me all the feels: http://yaboybokuto.tumblr.com/post/161638536693/welcome-back





	Welcome Back

**Author's Note:**

> For prime feels and angst not only look at the art before reading but listen to this song which is was with the art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goWa6EzkCh4

No no no no no no…  
Stop it!  
No no no…  
You can’t do this to me Keith.  
We’re so close, so so close.  
Just come back.

The red blood pooled around his pale limp form as Lance cupped his face in his hands.

Keith.  
We talked about this buddy, you need to hold on.  
You idiot.

Everyone knew Keith was hot blooded. Ran into a fight without thinking. It’s what had gotten him kicked out of the garrison and had him rescuing Shiro without a second thought. Lance never gave him the chance to forget how stupid he was and how much danger he put everyone in when he wasn’t thinking.

Come on Keith.  
Come on.  
Don’t… don’t do this.

Lance had always seen Keith as invincible. The idiot who ran into battle and always ran back out, usually a little worse for wear, but he’d come back. Lance couldn’t count the number of times he’d ended up sitting, waiting, outside a healing pod after Keith’s stupidity had gotten him injured.

Just please, breath for me Keith.  
In and out.  
Please.

Even in their training exercises Keith showed extremely reckless behaviour, It always ended with a furrow in Shiro’s brow, and Lance yelling at Keith to be more careful. Because what if it was real. What if they couldn’t just turn of the simulator. Hunk would place a hand of Keith’s shoulder and tell him that Lance was right. “For once” Pidge would add. Keith would just shrug it off and if provoked enough stalk out of the room.

Don’t leave me.  
I can’t be alone.  
Not again.

Over the months of training and battles it was plain to see that the bond between the paladins was growing. They were in tune with the way each other moved, able to predict where they were so to best shield each other from attack. Lance could remember the time Hunk tripped whilst carrying his latest space goo concoction. Keith had caught the dish and Lance had steadied Hunk without a second thought. Unfortunately the goo itself ended up down Shiro’s front. They’d all laughed.

Is anyone there.  
Please, it’s Keith.  
He’s… I don’t think he’s going to be ok.

It was Pidge who first commented on it of course but everyone had noticed. Keith was no longer returning to his room or to Red whenever they had free time. Instead he could be found in the control room watching Allura or Coran at the controls, or in the Kitchen helping Hunk cook, or in Pidge’s commandeered tech room handing her tools, or training with Shiro, or just sitting and talking with Lance in their living quarters. It was the later that had really surprised the Paladins. “Lance you’ve been getting rather close to Keith these days haven’t you?” Pidge asked. “…Yeah, I guess I have.”

Why!  
How could this happen!  
This never should have happened!

Shiro began sending them on missions together, choosing to nurture the newfound comfort Keith and Lance were showing around each other. It was on one of these missions that Keith had turned to Lance and told him that he trusted him. He thought he could never trust anyone again after his dad left and the garrison covered up the Kerberos Mission, but he trusted Lance and the other Paladins with his life. Lance smiled wider that he’d ever smiled before, the face hurting kind of smile. Keith had just hit him over the head and told him to stop acting like an idiot. 

You Idiot!  
You Idiot!  
You Idiot!

It had been an ordinary mission. Hunk, being forever wary and having past issues with the outdated records on the castle ship, had told Keith and Lance to be wary and keep an eye out. The two were being sent to an abandoned planet, way beyond Galra territory, to retrieve some sort of mineral that was key to the running of some alien technology the Paladins had picked up of a liberated Galra prisoner ship. Shiro had chosen Keith and Lance to go with a knowing smile and a pat on Keith’s back, proud of the progress the two had made together.

I can’t do this without you.  
YOU TOLD ME YOU WOULD STAY!  
Stay.

They were just landing on the planet when Lance realised that their communications with the castle ship had shut off. Keith had insisted that they were already on the planet so may as well continue ahead with the mission. Hunk's warning echoed inside Lance’s head as he agreed and followed after Keith. They strayed further from their lions, making their way to a light brown rock formation that looked promising. Keith had only just brought out the material scanner when the earth began to shake beneath their feet.

Stay.  
Stay.  
Stay.

Lance pulled on Keith’s arm. They needed to go and they needed to go now. “One second Lance, I’ve almost got this.” It took the first blast of an alien laser for Keith to turn around. It wasn’t the Galra but it was most certainly something, a very angry, very armed something, pouring in swarms from caves in the rock. Keith on instinct dropped the samples of rock taken and raised his Bayard, Lance already in battle stance shooting back. Obviously outnumbered the only option was to retreat.

Come back.  
Come back.  
Come back.

The creatures, whatever they were, gained on the two paladins as they raced back towards their Lions. Heart beating out of his chest Lance yelled at Keith to go first with the hope that his own long distance weapon would suffice for covering the both of them. The idiot hadn’t listened. They were almost to their Lions when Lance heard an unforgettable noise. Somewhere between a whimper and a scream, followed by the clatter of armour hitting the ground. He didn’t need to see Keith to know he’d been hit. Lance turned to face the enemy, putting his body between where Keith lay disturbingly motionless and the creatures as he fired with practiced precision backed by terrifying rage.

We were going to go home remember.  
Back to Earth.  
You and Me.

Lance didn’t even notice that Blue and Red took to the skies. Red disappeared above gathering clouds and Blue circled around the paladins as the storm clouds grew. The alien fire drew to a halt and Lance barely recognised the damp of rain on his skin as tears fell freely. Obviously the aliens had never experienced rain, at least not for a long time, as they scattered back to the caves they appeared from. Dropping to the ground Lance crawled over to Keith finally assessing the damage. A slowly growing pool of blood surrounded his stomach and as Lance turned his head to look blood had gathered in the corner of Keith’s mouth.

“Talk to me Keith, please! I need to know how bad this is. Please! Keith say something.” Keith only coughed in response his eyes staring off past Lance’s shoulder. “Ok, ok, ok. Everything's going to be alright. Just hold on. Red’s gone for help. We just need to get you to my Lion, ok.” When Lance tried to shift Keith, more blood gushed from his stomach. “Ok, no movement. That’s ok. We’ll just wait here. You’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. They’ll come for us. We will get you to a healing pod. Just hold on for us, yeah? For me, yeah?”

It was an hour before the other paladins showed up. A full hour of nervous waiting. Lance mumbling insults and plea's under his breath. He'd held onto Keith like his life depended on it and Blue kept the rain coming. The dusty ground had turned to mud and Lance held Keith closer. Their white armour stained red and brown. Keith had stopped coughing up blood half an hour in. Lance wasn’t even sure if he was still breathing. He didn’t want to check. Didn’t want to know. But Keith, the fiery, hot headed, red paladin had grown cold in his arms. Lance told himself it was the rain. He hoped it was the rain. He needed it to be the rain.

Shiro was the first to get to them. Then Hunk with a stretcher. Then Pidge, gently prying Lance’s hand from Keith’s as his fellow paladins lifted Keith up and away. 

Things were silent and strained on their way back to the castle ship. The severity of the situation recognised by all.

Allura and Coran whisked him away upon their arrival. Lance couldn’t look. Couldn’t watch as they strapped him into the healing pod. It had been over an hour. Exposed to the elements. Breathing weakening. Bleeding out. Unresponsive. There was no reason to hope that he could be saved.

….

It was a month, a month of waiting before the Pod opened again. Keith stumbled out and into Lance’s waiting arms. They breathed each other in. Lance had cried all his tears already so just held Keith closer.

“Welcome Back.”

**Author's Note:**

> Look I wrote three different endings, two in which I killed Keith, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Sorry if the ending is a little rushed or short, I just wanted the focus to be on Lance freaking the heck out cause Keith might be dead. I know my priorities.


End file.
